May 2004

Carrot-Trick Stretches

Your horse will love this exercise — and you’ll learn from it, too.

Carrot tricks can show you which side of your horse is “stiffer.”

Actually, it’s no trick at all to get our horses to eat carrots. The “trick” part is getting the horse to do stretching exercises that are both therapeutic and even diagnostic by using carrots as an enticement.

“Carrot tricks” is the name that has stuck to the practice of using treats to loosen the neck and back before tacking up. The diagnostic aspect of this exercise should show you to what degree the horse is more flexible in either direction. You can then take this into account in deciding which exercises you use when you ride. …